are all 10000 grade hakamas the same?

[hobsoam]

i have been looking into the 10000 grade hakamas. i notice that there are a few different companies that offer them. which brand and from what martial arts supply company should i buy?

[Taek]

i have been looking into the 10000 grade hakamas. i notice that there are a few different companies that offer them. which brand and from what martial arts supply company should i buy?

I just came back from Korea and Japan trip last week. I looked around a few places to find a good Japanese made Ki and Hakama. There were a few good ones such as Musashi, Sankei and Shou. I'm not sure in Japan but many Kendo people in Korea recommended me Golden Zen Ki and Hakama from Sankei. Sankei also makes silver zen which is 7000. I purchased Golden Zen 11000 double stiched one but haven't tried yet but just spent so many hours handwashing them in salt water to preserve the special 'gon (natural indigo) colour'. You can also find some Korean or Chinese made 7000/10000 Ki and Hakama. They are much cheaper but not as good as Japanese one. Each brand has different characteristic.....for example, I heard Sankei gives you nice gon colour as the colour fades away and has nice shape but the material is not as strong as other brand. Musashi doesn't have as good colour as Sankei but I heard it is very comportable (soft)to ware. I also saw some new stuff coming out in Japan called 'bio' Ki and Hakama. I only saw in a catalogue but they looked pretty good. Normal 10000 feels stiff and hard when you first ware them where as new bio one looked soft and has kind of semi fade look a bit like old Jean sort of look..... Price ranges from 10000 Yen to 40000 Yen for Ki and 15000 Yen to 4000 Yen for Hakama. I purchased mine for 35000 Yen (Ki and Hakama).
There have been some problems with people selling fake Japanese Ki and Hakama in Korea so don't forget to check it before you buy. (Genuine one usually comes in nice plastic bag with sealed lable, especially on Hakama). I hope this helps.

[Neil Gendzwill]

There's quite a bit of variation in quality, colour and even cut. I have a Mitsuboshi 11000 one which is quite nice, more blue in colour (I don't care for the purples).

As far as the "bio" stuff - I have one of the bio Gold kendogi from Koei. It's super-heavy and very soft - so soft that it takes marks from the doh-himo more readily than other kendogi. The softness is due to some enzyme treatment of the fabric, so it's soft even right after washing. I don't think I'd want this softness for hakama - I like mine stiff and crisp.

Neil

[taiwnezboi]

I have SanKei #11,000 gi and hakama.. I like them a lot.. too heavy and thick to wear in tournaments though.. I'd still wear my old uniform which is like 5 times lighter =P

[Hai_hai]

Go with any brand. It's not going to affect your cosplay shows.

[taiwnezboi]

Go with any brand. It's not going to affect your cosplay shows.

you must really get a kick out of posting weird stuff =P